Elevated false floor



Oct. 18, 1960 E. c. LISKEY, JR

ELEVATED FALSE FLOOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 15, 1958 1 960 E. c. LISKEY, JR 2,956 52 ELEVATED FALSE FLOOR INENTOR.

Oct. 18, 1960 c. LISKEY, JR 2,956,652

ELEVATED FALSE FLOOR ELEVATED FALSE FLOOR Ernest C. Liskey, Jr., Severna Park, Md., assignor to Liskey Aluminum, Inc., Glen Burnie, Md., a corporation of Maryland Filed Aug. 15, 1958, Ser. No. 755,174

9 Claims. (Cl. 189-34) The present invention relates to, so-called, raised or false floors.

The advent of electronic computers, business machines, magnetic files and the like and the growing use of them in large batteries or groups has raised serious problems for those persons and business houses who use them in large numbers, especially when such machines are concentrated in a selected area or room, as is desirable, for eflicient operation. The electrical cables and ancillary Wiring, and their connections, for such a grouping of these machines are quite complex and, since certain of these machines function best at a certain range of ambient temperature, it is sometimes needed to circulate heated or cooled air to them. These cables, wiring and other required equipment for these machines are usually laid upon the floor of the area and is so extensive as to be hazardous to the operators of the machines, often become broken or damaged, prevent proper cleaning of the floor area and are generally objectionable and in the way of personnel.

Existing floor construction cannot be conveniently or economically modified to house these cables and other accessories for the machines, and a floor, so constructed tohouse them, is very costly and still may not meet the immediate needs in any desired installation or grouping of said machines. As a consequence, an elevated floor is employed for many such installations and overlies a normal floor upon which the machines and their installation accessories are loosely 'laid and supported.

The object of the present invention is, generally, the provision of an improved rigid, light weight metallic, yet strong, and relatively inexpensive elevated false floor having novel features of construction and of the type comprising removable and portable flooring sections or panels which are laid in place in side-by-side contact and readily afford easy access to all points of the sub-floor area for inspection, repair, replacement and cleaning of equipment lying upon the same, and which are supported in spaced relation to the underlying floor by adjustable pedestals to ensure an accurate or desired floor level or position relative to the sub-floor.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved construction for a false-floor assembly, composed of removable panels mounted at their ends on stringers, and which panels are releasably locked in aligned close contact and maintained in position against shifting movement.

Still another object of the invention is an improved assembly structure of removable floor panels per se.

A further object of the invention is to provide a false floor, as just mentioned, comprising essentially three separate partsfiie. floor panels and stringers of extruded aluminum and adjustable pedestals of cast aluminumensuring a very durable and strong structure extremely light in weight to reduce the load burden on the subfloor and which may be installed either before or after the machines are in place and the cables, pipe lines,

States Patent conduits and other ancillary equipment are in position and connected, as may be desired or found more convenient.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the construction of the falsefloor of this invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings when read in connection with the following detailed specification.

In the drawings which show the preferred embodiments of the invention as now in use- Figure l is a perspective view of a section of the falsefloor in accordance with the present invention, parts being broken away and shown in section to illustrate details of construction;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged, transverse, sectional view taken through one of the panels forming the floor surface; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view illustrating the ends of two floor panels locked in position by a modified lock-bar which is fastened to an underlying stringer.

Referring in detail to the drawings in which like character of reference refers to similar and like parts through out the several views, the false-floor of the present invention comprises a plurality of spaced pedestals P of sufficient number and suitably spaced apart to support a plurality of spaced and parallel stringers S, which latter are spanned by a plurality of floor panels F laid in contiguous side-by-side contact and having their opposite ends resting upon and supported by the stringers S, the adjacent ends of adjacent panels being formed with upwardly facing grooves 10 into which an interlocking bar 11 engages, thus spanning the distance between said ends of the panels and lying flush with the upper surfaces thereof, the bars being removably fastened by screws 11a to the underlying stringer. The length of the stringers S is, at least, a multiple of the length of the ends of one of said panels F. Each lock-bar ill is located above and is coextensive with the panels thereon and substantially parallel to the underlying stringer.

The pedestals P comprise a base plate 12 from which upwardly extends a column 13 threaded at its upper end to threadedly engage into a threaded opening '14 centrally disposed in a disc-like cap 15. The caps 15 are provided with radial slots 16 extending inwardly from their peripheral edge for a distance for the reception of clamping bolts 17 which secure the stringers S upon the upper surfaces of the caps, and which slots allow for lateral adjustment of the stringers. For convenience, there are at least four of such slots provided in order to allow for minute adjustments of the caps relative to the columns and at the same time allow the stringers to be clamped thereto in proper position.

The base plates 12 may be cut from sheet aluminum and anchored to the sub-floor by suitable fasteners 12a. The column 13 may be a rod threaded at its lower end into a nut 18 which is welded at 19 to the plate 12. A lock-nut 20 is provided on the upper threaded end of the column 13 to hold the cap 15 at the desired height of adjustment. The caps v15 are preferably of cast aluminum and each has a depending tubular boss 15a which is internally threaded and has spaced reinforcing webs 15b connecting the underside of the disc-cap 15 with the boss 15a.

The stringers S are essentially channels of extruded aluminum and are cut to desired lengths. The channels are placed upon the caps in inverted position, as shown, that is with their channel face downward. The free end portions of the flanges 21 of these channels are provided with lateral flanges which have their outer edges upturned, as at 22, to form upwardly facing grooves on opposite sides of the flange members 21 for a reception of similarly grooved portions of clamping cleats 23 which are bolted to the caps 15 by the bolts 17 and the nuts 17a. The closed or top side of the channel members, forming the stringers S, are each formed on their outer face with a reinforcing-spacer rib 24 extending along the longitudinal center of the stringer to provide a stop abutment for locating and positioning the ends of adjacent panels on the stringer. These ribs 24 are provided with a spaced series of threaded openings to receive the threaded portions of the screws 11a.

The floor panels F may be of any convenient size but, for easy installation or removal, as occasion may require, panels of 3 feet by 3 feet are practical. Each floor panel F is fabricated from several sections 25 of extruded aluminum; and each of these sections 25 comprises a plurality of substantially equi-spaced I-beams b arranged in the same horizontal plane, the upper flange portions of the beams being extended laterally to join the flanges of the adjacent beams, thus forming a smooth upper tread surface t. Since it is desirable for these sections 25 to be in multiples of 3 inches, it is most practical for them to be 6 inches in width and approximately 35 inches in length (in the direction of the beams b). When the required number of sections are arranged in contiguous side-by-side position to provide a panel 36 inches wide, the adjacent side beams b of adjacent sections of the panel are formed respectively with complemental ribs and grooves 3 extending longitudinally on their web portions to interlock one with the other as shown particularly in Figs. 1 and 3. The beams b, occurring at the outer sides of each panel F thus assembled, are formed with straight smooth outer vertical face b to tightly abut a similar face b on an adjacent panel, as shown in Fig. 1. Rising as an upward extension of these vertical faces b' is a guide and protecting rib r which extends about of an inch above the tread surface t or the equivalent of the thickness of a rubber tile or other floor covering C which is bonded to the upper tread surface of the panels between said ribs.

With the panel sections 25 assembled as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, they are connected and held together in this relationship at each end by an end bar 26 extending transversely across each end of a panel F. The end bars 26 are right-angle shapes of proper dimensions and each is placed against the assembled sections 25 of each panel F with one leg overlapping upon the tread surface t of the sections 25 and its other leg facially abutting the ends of the I-beams b and is secured thereto by weldments as indicated at 27 in Fig. 2, thus giving rigidity to the assembled floor panel in a direction transverse of the beams b. The outer face of the vertical leg of each end bar 26, which abuts the beams b, is formed with an outwardly extending flange shaped to provide the upwardly facing channel disposed below the top surface of the end bar. The overlapping leg of the angle bar 26, which overlaps the tread surface 1, is flush with and forms a continuation of the rib r to provide a raised border around the floor panel; and within this border and flush therewith, the tread surface t of the section 25 is covered with rubber tile C or other suitable flexible floor covering material cemented thereto.

After the two rows of adjacent panels F have been properly positioned on underlying stringers S and arranged in contiguous side-to-side contact, as shown in Fig. 1, their ends will be located and positioned in alignment by the reinforcing-spacer rib 24 which lies between them and the lock-bar 11 is then placed into position. The lock-bar 11 is formed on its under face with ribs 11b along its longitudinal edges and are complemental to the channels 10 on the end bars 26. It will be noticed that the longitudinal edges of the lock-bar 11 and the opposing faces of the channels 10 are complementally chamfered, as at x, so that, when the lock-bar 11 is inserted in position, as shown particularly in Figures 2 and 4, and secured in position by spaced countersunk screws 11a threaded into the spacer rib 24 on the stringers S, it Wedges in the channels 10 drawing the end bars of the panels F into tight contact therewith and connecting the adjacent ends of adjacent panels and in flush relation with the top surface of the floor panels F.

As shown in Figure 4, the lock-bar 11 may be formed with an abutment 28 on its underface to contact with the rib 24 on the stringer S to assure a more rigid connection and to insure against the screws being tightened to such an extent as may how the bar. This abutment 28 may be in the form of one or two lateral flanges as shown. Also, in such cases as it may be desirable, the top surface of the lock-bars 11 may be extruded with anti-skid ridges a thereon.

In any installation of the false floor shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, the stringers S at the ends of the flooring are provided with an upwardly extending right angular projection 26a to finish the end of the floor at Walls, at columns or at cut-out areas in the false-floor for the machines or other equipment supported on the sub-floor. These modified stringers are denominated boundary stringers and the right angular projection 26a may be formed integral with the stringers S, as shown in the left hand portions of Figs. 1 and 2 or they may be separate channel bars and positioned and secured in place. In either event, the finishing angle bar and projection 26a has one leg positioned as an extension of the outer leg of the stringer and its other leg extending inwardly and flush with the adjacent end bars 26 of the panels and spaced therefrom as shown. The free or inner edges of the finishing bar 26a has a channel portion 10a, the same as the channels 10 on the end bars 26, to receive and cooperate with the lock-bars 11 as has been previously described.

The sides of the panels F will, of course, have a smooth finish surface b' and, should it be desired to close the ends of the stringers and the pedestals from view, a flat aluminum strip or sheet, not shown, may be secured thereto as is commonly practiced.

Installation of the false floor in accordance with Figs. 1 to 4 has proven to be very satisfactory and is in demand over previous types of false-floor from the standpoints of lightness in weight, of easy and quickness of installing, of economy in cost of manufacture and of installation, of rigidity and appearance, and of adaptability to various sub-floor conditions, room configurations and placement or grouping of the machines and their equipment, as well as the facility with which any desired number of panels may be removed and replaced to afford access to the equipment beneath them and for cleaning purposes.

It will be noted that a very simple organization of elements is provided and, since the component metallic parts-except for the pedestals-are all of extruded aluminum, the shapes and surfaces shown and required for the same are easily formed during the extrusion operation, and all that need be done is to cut the extrusions to length, fit them together into the fabricated parts and, thereafter, to install them into place, the panels being removable and replaceable at will. This installation of the floor panels is done quickly and the meeting edges of the panels, and of their lock-bars 11, fit together with a nicety of accuracy that there are no cracks or spaces between the panels comprising the floor surface but only gives the appearance of a smooth floor surface comprising a multiplicity of adjacent squares similar to a terrazo floor.

Having thus described the invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction herein shown, as the same may be modified or varied within the scope of the appended claims.

That which is claimed, as new and to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

' 1; As a new article of manufacture, a fabricated metallic false-floor adapted to overlie and be supported by a sub-floor, said false-floor comprising a plurality of spaced substantially parallel stringers, a plurality of supporting pedestals underlying each stringer and spaced along its length, each pedestal having a supporting cap mounted for vertical adjustment thereon and upon which said stringers rest, releasable means securing said stringers to said caps, a plurality of individual floor panels of predetermined size each dimensioned to span two adjacent stringers and having their ends resting thereupon, said panels being in end-to-end spaced relation and in side-byside contiguous relation to each other, the ends of the side-by-side contiguous panels being aligned, the length of said stringers being at least as great as a multiple of the length of the ends of one of said panels and said stringers extending longitudinally of and underlying the aligned ends of a plurality of said panels, the opposing end edges of said panels being formed with upwardly facing groove portions, a lock-bar removably inserted between the spaced ends of said panels and having complemental means thereon engaging said grooves and lying flush with the tread-surface of said panels and located above and coextensive with said side-by-side panels and substantially parallel to the underlying stringer, and means removably securing said lock-bar to the underlying stringer, whereby panels laid in juxtaposed relation on the stringers may be removed individually and replaced.

2. The subject matter of claim 1, wherein the stringers are inverted channel-form with oppositely extending lateral flanges along the free end of the leg portions of said channels, and wherein the supporting caps of said pedestals are plate-like members formed with a plurality of radial slots, and clamping means for clamping the flanges of said stringers to and upon said plate-like members including bolts extending through said slots and adjustable along their length of said slots for permitting aligning adjustment of said stringers on said pedestals and relatively to each other.

3. The subject matter of claim 1, where'm the stringers are of inverted channel-form with a flat top surface and having a reinforcing and spacer rib on said top surface extending along the longitudinal center of said top surface and forming a locating means for positioning said panels generally on said stringers.

4. As an article of manufacture, a floor panel for false floors comprising a plurality of sections, each having a substantially uniform cross section throughout its length and including a plurality of spaced, substantially parallel and coextensive beams integrally connected at their upper sides by a substantially planar portion to form a smooth upper tread surface said sections being arranged in contiguous side-by-side relation with their beams extending in the same direction, an end bar extending transversely along and forming a rib border along each end of said panel and being welded to said sections and including a portion which is of substantially L-shape in cross section and made up of two elongated integral strips meeting at an angle, one of said strips extending laterally at the upper portion of and inwardly of the panel, the other strip extending downwardly along the ends of said beams, raised ribs along the sides of said panel, and a floor covering filling the space defined by all of said ribs and secured to said tread surface and having an exposed surface which is substantially coplanar with the upper surfaces of said ribs.

5. An elevated floor comprising rectangular panels extending side-by-side and end-to-end substantially in checkerboard fashion, each panel being fabricated, at least chiefly, from metal and having upwardly opening grooves extending along and substantially coextensive with an oppositely disposed pair of its ends, a series of footed pedestals resting on a subfloor and extending along aligned ends of a plurality of said panels, each pedestal comprising an upwardly extending column, a cap for each of the columns having a hole extending upwardly therethrough and receiving avcorresponding column, threaded means for adjusting each cap up and down on its column and supporting" it in adjusted position, the grooves of a series of panels being aligned, a stringer extending along and underlying a series of grooved opposite ends of aligned panels and resting on the underlying caps, a lock bar extending along and above each of said stringers and having a portion received in and extending along the aligned grooves of a series of panels, and means releasably securing said lock bars to their respective stringers.

6. In an elevated floor fabricated chiefly from metal, rectangular panels extending side-by-side and end-to-end substantially in checkerboard fashion, a spaced series of vertically adjustable pedestals supported on a subfloor and extending along aligned ends of adjacent rows of said panels, stringers having a surface for supporting said panels and extending along and underlying the ends of said panels and resting upon the underlying pedestals, one row of panels resting on the panel supporting surface of an underlying stringer and an adjacent row of panels resting on the panel supporting surface of said stringer and opposite the ends of the first mentioned row of panels, and an upstanding rib carried by and extending longitudinally of the panel supporting surface of said stringers between the adjacent ends of adjacent rows of panels and forming a stop-abutment engageable by the said ends of the panels supported by the underlying stringer for locating and aligning said ends of the adjacent rows of panels on said stringer.

7. A floor as defined in claim 6 wherein the opposite ends of the series of panels, having upwardly open grooves therein, are substantially parallel with the underlying stringer, and a locker-bar secured to said stringer and extending along and over both series of ends and having depending flanges interlocked in said grooves.

8. As a new article of manufacture, a floor panel for false-floors comprising a plurality of sections, each having a substantially uniform cross-section throughout its length and including a plurality of spaced substantially parallel and coextensive beams integrally connected at their upper sides to form a smooth upper tread-surface adapted to receive a floor-covering, said sections being arranged in contiguous side-by-side relation with their beams extending in the same direction, complemental tongue-andgroove interlocking means on and extending substantially the entire length of the opposing faces of adjacent beams of contiguous sections, an integral end-bar at each of the ends of the panel and extending transversely across and in contact with the adjacent ends of the beams of the sections composing said panel, said end-bar having a flange projecting laterally therefrom along its length and integral therewith and extending inwardly relative to and in contact with the sections of said panel, and weldments securing said end-bar to said sections and holding said tongue-and-groove means in interlocking engagement.

9. As a new article of manufacture, a floor panel for false-floors comprising a plurality of sections, each having a substantially uniform cross-section throughout its length and including a plurality of spaced substantially parallel and coextensive beams integrally connected at their upper sides by a substantially planar portion to form an upper tread-surface, said sections being in contiguous side-byside relation with their beams extending in the same direction, a right-angle end-bar at each end of said panel and having one of its legs facially disposed transversely across and covering the ends of said sections and in contact with the ends of said beams of the sections composing the panel, the outer face of said leg being formed with a channel member to provide an upwardly open groove for the reception of a lock-bar, the other leg of said end-bar overlapping the tread-surface of the panel and forming a border rib on the tread-surface, weldments securing said end-bar to theend of said section edxhposing ':2,36S.850 said panel, and a fioor-coveringmaterialsecured tosaid 2,420,292 tread-surface of said panel between said bordering-ribs. 2,567,716 2,742,121

References Cited in the file of thispatent 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 870,696 Stetler Nov. 12, 1907 643,921 2,217,083 Vetter Oct. 8, 1940 692,941

Tench Dec. 26 1944 Baer et'al. 'May 13, 1947 Kritzer Sept. '11, 195-1 Liskey Apr. 17, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Sept. 27, 1950 Great Britain June 17, 1953 

